ArticleJMIR public health and surveillance2020
Concerns and Misconceptions About the Australian Government's COVIDSafe App: Cross-Sectional Survey Study.
Article in JMIR public health and surveillance, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 47 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
47 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 94 citations in OpenAlex.
- User Compliance With the Health Emergency and Disaster Management System: Systematic Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Pooled it
- Factors Influencing the Adoption of Contact Tracing Applications: Systematic Review and Recommendations.Frontiers in digital health · 2022Pooled it
- Public health effectiveness of digital contact tracing in the COVID-19 pandemic: A systematic review of available data.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2021Pooled it
- Characteristics and determinants of population acceptance of COVID-19 digital contact tracing: a systematic review.Acta bio-medica : Atenei Parmensis · 2021Pooled it
- Ethics, Integrity, and Retributions of Digital Detection Surveillance Systems for Infectious Diseases: Systematic Literature Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2021Pooled it
- From Measurement Failure to Privacy Infrastructure: Reframing Contact Tracing Governance for the Next Pandemic.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- A solution to the pervasive problem of response bias in self-reports.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- BARRIERS AND FACILITATORS TO PROVIDING COVID-19 CONTACT TRACING INFORMATION AMONG ADULT NIGERIANS.African journal of infectious diseases · 2025Article
- Survey of Citizens' Preferences for Combined Contact Tracing App Features During a Pandemic: Conjoint Analysis.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Determinants of Citizens' Intention to Participate in Self-Led Contact Tracing: Cross-Sectional Online Questionnaire Study.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2024Article
- Combatting SARS-CoV-2 With Digital Contact Tracing and Notification: Navigating Six Points of Failure.JMIR public health and surveillance · 2023Review
- The Adoption of a COVID-19 Contact-Tracing App: Cluster Analysis.JMIR formative research · 2023Article
- Systematic scoping review of the implementation, adoption, use, and effectiveness of digital contact tracing interventions for COVID-19 in the Western Pacific Region.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Virtual Care Initiatives for Older Adults in Australia: Scoping Review.Journal of medical Internet research · 2023Article
- Nurse, Give Me the News! Understanding Support for and Opposition to a COVID-19 Health Screening System.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Emerging data inputs for infectious diseases surveillance and decision making.Frontiers in digital health · 2023Review
- Innovative Methods Used in Monitoring COVID-19 in Europe: A Multinational Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- The Effect of Persuasive Design on the Adoption of Exposure Notification Apps: Quantitative Study Based on COVID Alert.JMIR formative research · 2022Article
- Fantastic perspectives and where to find them: involving patients and citizens in digital health research.Research involvement and engagement · 2022Article
- The use of mobile apps and fitness trackers to promote healthy behaviors during COVID-19: A cross-sectional survey.PLOS digital health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundTimely and effective contact tracing is an essential public health measure for curbing the transmission of COVID-19. App-based contact tracing has the potential to optimize the resources of overstretched public health departments. However, its efficiency is dependent on widespread adoption.
objectiveThis study aimed to investigate the uptake of the Australian Government's COVIDSafe app among Australians and examine the reasons why some Australians have not downloaded the app.
methodsAn online national survey, with representative quotas for age and gender, was conducted between May 8 and May 11, 2020. Participants were excluded if they were a health care professional or had been tested for COVID-19.
resultsOf the 1802 potential participants contacted, 289 (16.0%) were excluded prior to completing the survey, 13 (0.7%) declined, and 1500 (83.2%) participated in the survey. Of the 1500 survey participants, 37.3% (n=560) had downloaded the COVIDSafe app, 18.7% (n=280) intended to do so, 27.7% (n=416) refused to do so, and 16.3% (n=244) were undecided. Equally proportioned reasons for not downloading the app included privacy (165/660, 25.0%) and technical concerns (159/660, 24.1%). Other reasons included the belief that social distancing was sufficient and the app was unnecessary (111/660, 16.8%), distrust in the government (73/660, 11.1%), and other miscellaneous responses (eg, apathy and following the decisions of others) (73/660, 11.1%). In addition, knowledge about COVIDSafe varied among participants, as some were confused about its purpose and capabilities.
conclusionsFor the COVIDSafe app to be accepted by the public and used correctly, public health messages need to address the concerns of citizens, specifically privacy, data storage, and technical capabilities. Understanding the specific barriers preventing the uptake of contact tracing apps provides the opportunity to design targeted communication strategies aimed at strengthening public health initiatives, such as downloading and correctly using contact tracing apps.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.